The match was quite tense and a game of two halves. In the first one we played well, controlled the ball well and created chances. There weren’t enough of them, and they weren’t that accurate as Orenburg defended very well, but we had the advantage. In the second half we made mistakes, and didn’t keep hold of the ball well. There were errors that allowed Orenburg to have chances, but luck was on our side and we turned the game around, I think the game was equal then, but with the score at 1-0 there was hope for Orenburg that they could earn some away points, and they had set pieces and crosses, good chances, but we made it through. It was a tough win, but we’ll go on to the next match with a tough fixture list ahead of us.
What is the reason for taking off Pedro at half time?
In my opinion, not enough movement, he had space, but there wasn’t enough movement, and he didn’t get into the game. He wasn’t as active as I would have liked.
The Prokhin handball, was it a penalty after the VAR review and the ref said it was not?
It was obvious and surprising, but I can't comment, I don't have an answer to this question.
Do you feel like this was the wrong decision?
Look at the penalty against us, when Sutormin was adjudged to have handballed in our penalty area and the ref awarded a penalty. Here the ball is going towards the goal and the hand is outstretched. I do not understand this.
Ivan Sergeev gave us an emotional display for the second game in a row, both on the pitch and on the sideline? What’s going on here?
He’s tried hard both this game and the last one, but not everything has worked out. This may be due to them being difficult matches. Probably, he’s not playing as well as he’d like.
I would like to clarify your answer about the ref’s decision, My friends from St. Petersburg basketball referees, say that they would never agree to referee a Zenit match. Can you explain more your opinion about the decision?
I’m not a referee so I don’t know the reasons and thoughts of referees when they make certain decisions. You should ask the refs to explain their decisions.
Are your bonuses for wins over Spartak and Orenburg the same?
Bonuses have to be earned and deserved and bonuses will be awarded when we finish all the aims we’e set ourselves.
Cassierra didn’t score today, and somehow he didn’t play as well as we’ve seen him recently. Has he lost some form?
I think it’s impossible to play on top form throughout an entire season, to always score or assist. Today was not the best match, and all players have good, very good, bad or average matches at times, that’s normal. Today didn’t go as we’d planned, but that’s fine, I think everything will work out in our upcoming matches.
